NASSAU, Bahamas- Chairman of the National Development Plan (NDP) Secretariat Felix Stubbs said yesterday it is important to place focus on passing legislation ahead of the full completion of work on the plan, which is already 80 percent finished, The Nassau Guardian reported on Wednesday, July 12, in an article written by Executive Editor Candia Dames.
“When we last were working on the National Development Plan, we did draft legislation that we wanted the government to approve, and so I’ve forwarded a copy of that draft legislation to the prime minister and to the attorney general. [The thinking was] they could start working on that immediately after the budget which is right now,” Stubbs said. “As soon as that legislation is satisfactory to the government and it goes to Parliament for debate, and once that legislation is passed, we will then select the steering committee and work with government to select the secretariat, which will be the technical arm of the National Development Plan.”
Work on the National Development Plan started during the Christie administration and came to a halt when the Minnis-led Free National Movement was elected in 2017 – though in opposition Dr. Hubert Minnis had expressed support for the secretariat’s work.
The Progressive Liberal Party pledged to restart work on the plan.
Speaking in the House of Assembly last month, Prime Minister Philip Davis announced that the government is resuming work on the plan, and has selected a chairman to complete the NDP, then prepare an implementation plan.
“We are currently reviewing recommendations for the steering committee to oversee the work,” Davis advised. “We have included civil society, the business community, labor and religious leadership on the committee. Additionally, the government will appoint a secretariat to support the implementation of the work. We already have an initial draft legislation that will create the framework for implementation. We eagerly look forward to having a completed and updated National Development Plan and implementation plan along with supporting legislation tabled for debate in Parliament.”
Davis said the NDP is a part of the government’s effort to build a secure foundation.
“But a foundation is only the beginning,” he said. “To truly realize our vision, that foundation must be built up to completion. That is the point of strategic national development. There must be continuity, not just across budget years, but across successive administrations. That’s why so many Bahamians hated ‘stop, review, and cancel’ – they understood it was partisan politics, not national development, that was being prioritized.”
Yesterday, Stubbs said the draft plan will need updating.
“We will go back to all the stakeholders and get additional input on what has changed since the 2017 [draft],” he said. “We will have to update that. We believe if we can start within the next month or two, we can probably have a completed plan before the end of the year.”
See complete article in The Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/national-dev-plan-critical-to-future/
